Camden seeks comment on zone request

CAMDEN – Residents will have two opportunities this summer to give the planning board comments on Wayfarer Marine’s request for zoning changes to allow the business to develop waterfront condominiums and store and repair boats on a parcel of land on U.S. Route 1 north of town.

Comments also are being sought on eight zoning amendments proposed by residents Leonard Lookner and Deb Dodge that relate to Wayfarer Marine’s existing operations on the harbor.

The board ultimately will make recommendations on the zoning requests to the Select Board, which probably will put the requests before voters on the November ballot.

Wednesday night, Wayfarer Marine representatives presented their proposals to the planning board, and board members spent about 45 minutes in a question-and-answer exchange, Town Planner Jeff Nims reported Thursday.

Wayfarer is seeking a change in the boundary line between the traditional village district and the harbor business district, as delineated on the zoning ordinance map. Wayfarer wants the line moved so its current commercial property, known locally as the Bean Yard, would be in the village district, thereby allowing the company to develop residential housing on the property.

Wayfarer’s second request is to amend the zoning ordinance so the business can store, maintain and repair boats at the property now owned by Parker Laite on Route 1. Wayfarer holds an option to purchase a portion of the Laite property, which it would execute if the zoning change were approved.

On Wednesday night, the board had a similar exchange with Dodge, a former member of the planning board, and Lookner, a former Select Board member, who are proposing eight zoning changes designed to address their concerns about waterfront development on Wayfarer’s existing property.

Dodge and Lookner want to close what they see as loopholes in the ordinance to prevent Wayfarer from developing housing in buildings in the harbor business district that existed before June 1, 2007.

On July 11, the board will hold an informational meeting on the proposals at the Camden Opera House auditorium. Questions and comments will be welcome at this meeting, Nims said. The meeting will be televised on the local public access channel.

The board will meet July 25 and Aug. 1 at the Washington Street Conference Room to work on the proposed changes. No public comment will be accepted at these meetings, and they will not be televised.

On Aug. 15, a formal public hearing on the proposals will be held, again at the Opera House. After the hearing, the board will deliberate and vote on its recommendation to the Select Board. The meeting will be televised.

The Select Board will hold its public hearing on the zoning proposals on Sept. 4. That board then may agree to put the zoning requests on the November ballot, and voters will have the final say on them.

All the meetings begin at 7 p.m., except the July 25 meeting, which begins at 5 p.m.

Wayfarer has existed in one form or another on Camden’s harbor for 100 years. In recent decades, the business has developed a niche market in repairing and outfitting high-end yachts.

But as waterfront property escalates in value for housing, Wayfarer has struggled to find ways to remain economically vital as a commercial harbor-front enterprise.

Its zoning change proposals are an outgrowth of recommendations of the Camden Blue Ribbon Economic Task Force, the company states in a June 6 letter to the planning board. The task force formed a few years ago to work to keep Camden’s economy from becoming dominated by tourism and seasonal housing.

Another recently formed civic organization, the Camden Area Future Group, also has supported Wayfarer’s bid to remain viable, the letter states.

Wayfarer pledges to invest proceeds from sales of waterfront residential property in its remaining harbor-front commercial operations.

“The investment will result in the virtual total reconstruction of all the structures currently located there, making the marine facilities much more efficient and competitive,” according to the letter.

Wayfarer sees the proposals “as necessary to secure its continuing viability as a full service marina,” the letter states.

In exchange for winning approval of the zoning changes, the company also pledges to grant an easement to be held by a qualified organization to guarantee the remaining Wayfarer waterfront property “would be forever dedicated to marine uses,” according to the letter. Easements, unlike zoning ordinances, cannot be changed.